rz1c13

On 3/4/2024 at 4:21 PM, BigBoomer said:

On modern engines the valve seats and corresponding part of the valve do wear slightly, but so does the cam and follower so the net effect is minimal change.
The metallurgy of modern valves and seats is such that wear is good for the life of the vehicle and beyond. They just need regular clearance checks.
On the LS430 the clearance should be checked every 60k miles but once it gets beyond that first check I'd be amazed if it needed any adjustments over the next 600k miles.

 

Absolutely agree. In my case the lobes were clean, with no wear sings. When I bought my LS430, the car had about 150k miles, started having issues at around 200 - 210k miles. After doing the full timing and clearance job it runs like a charm, but honestly I think the valve clearance was never done before. As a side note, I run the car on LPG, so I would imagine the seats and valves may experience a sight more wear since LPG burns at higher temperatures, and does not provide as much cooling and valve lubrication as petrol.

On 2/29/2024 at 9:36 PM, ColinBarber said:

Are you saying the valve clearances closed up? I don't see how that is possible, wear can only cause the gap to increase between the cam lobe and follower/shim - unless something happened to the VVTi/timing.

That's absolutely possible - think again - you are assuming cam lobes or shims wear up, but in my case cams and shims were untouched, smooth and not a notch of wear. But if you think the valve itself or the valve sits wear, then you have the opposite case - clearance cancels out, and that's my case at least.

1 hour ago, Razor61 said:

You could try the guys below but as said earlier they may not want ship it. Worth asking though, they are near were I live and I've bought a couple of bits from them.

ACD of Lancashire home page

Many thanks! I'll try the eBay link first, if not, definitely contact the Lancashire guys. I think I can get someone frequently driving UK-Poland routes to pick it up for me.

2 hours ago, BigBoomer said:

 

If you collect in person, there are a couple of breakers that will cut a screen out of an LS430 for you.
They will not ship the screen though as the cost is silly and the risk of damage in transit is high.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/114074273671

 

Thank you for the eBay link, I'll try that and organise my own pickup and transport.

On 10/5/2019 at 1:13 PM, cruisermark said:

HI

I cannot help with your query but I think I may have the same problem as you - I feeling a vibration through the driver seat on hot engine idle - I've had the bonnet up on when running and the engine is definitely not smooth as it used to be - I hoping to have it hooked upto a code reader when I get a chance.

Please do post up a solution if you get to the bottom of it.

Fixed quite some time ago, and reviewing my posts just now. So it turned out to be valve clearance issue - getting to near-zero... ! I did total timing job (all by myself) plus full readjustment of the clearance by buying the right sizes of valve shims - only where it was a must, and reshuffled the remaining shims wherever was possible. Heck a lot of work - all cams out, then redo the timing with attention to marks, details etc. but worth it. It runs smooth like butter now.

24 minutes ago, NemesisUK said:

You need to update your info, still showing Essex as location...

Thanks!

1 hour ago, Malc1 said:

 they wouldn't make the car main body specific to  the different end-market, UK or EU and i suggest you seek some further advice about this non-fitting, curve issue ....  it just doesn't seem at all plausible  .........  to me anyway !

 

Malc

They did make it LHD/RHD specific, unfortunately... I had the LHD glass ordered and my friend mechanic and I had a look at it and at the one on my car (RHD) for comparison. The difference is clear and obvious. Just have a look at the bottom of the screen where it meets the plastic covering the wipers mounting and follow it along - it is not a straight line. We took of that plastic and clearly seen the glass edge is asymmetric, i.e. in terms of left/right side.

12 minutes ago, NemesisUK said:

Do you not have windscreen replacement cover with your insurance? Most insurance with a small £70 excess. Screen would be replaced by a national company usually specified by the insurer 

Unfortunately not, I'm insured in Poland, where I live and registered the car after moving from the UK.

Hi,

Started from a small stone chip, but after a few months developed to a massive top to bottom crack.

I am looking to buy an aftermarket UK replacement, but I do not want to go to a garage/independent shop as I have a friend who would replace it for me at a bargain.

So, I am looking only for an online store where I can buy the glass alone and get it delivered. I have looked in google but no luck for UK or RHD - it seems there is plenty of options in Europe, but for LHD and I have just learned it won't fit RHD as the bottom edge is slightly curved around the driver's side. Tried a couple of breakers from eBay, also no luck, it seems they cannot be bothered.

Getting a bit desperate, please help.

Rob.

any takes?

Hi,

For past few months I was puzzled by the car giving me a few light shakes on idle every now an then.  These jerks last a sec. or two, and are are a bit stronger when starting from cold engine, and they are more pronouced when the engine temp gauge passes about the first mark on the dash. On normal operating temp. the effect is very light, however still noticeable, as these V8s should be super-smooth if running properly.

Today I've connected the Techstream, and read the monitors.

I have misfires detected on Bank 1, - cyls 1, 3, 5, 7. As you can see on the pic, cyl. 1 seems to be the most affected (26 counts), cyl. 3 (24), cyl. 5 (8), and cyl 7 (2).

There are no other fault codes, check engine lights, etc.

I have taken the VVTi valve of bank 1 out - it is clean, moving freely, the coil seems to have the right resistance (about 7.5 ohm).

Also when idling, the voltage on the valve is about 1.5 V.

Any ideas?

Would this be a symptom of the VVTi valve starting to fail?

Hi, just to chip in.

My LS430 on LPG for almost 30k miles, also fitted in Poland, no flashlube - the installer told me flashlube was a waste of money for the 3UZ FE engine. Everything in top order so far. Compression as if the engine was new.

Also had the filler fitted under the fuel flap.

21 hours ago, jonthetourist said:

It would be good to know which kit your guys recommended.

I'll try to find my LS430 LPG papers and post the list of equipment here soon.

21 hours ago, jonthetourist said:

I think what really swings the decision is that Poland is an awful long way to go if I have any problems post-installation

Yes, that's true, It is unlikely though you'll have a post-install problem, but there is also a question of warranty. To retain their 2yrs warranty you must do regular service intervals with them, if I remember correctly it's every 10 000 mile-ish (15 000km). All they would usualy do is to replace the liquid phase and gass phase filters (that cost 20PLN, less than £5), double-check all critical parts and components, charge you 150PLN (about £30) and off you go.

Thanks. I thought the Sport/Normal switch is for suspension not the transmission, simply because if i press Sport, a green icon of a shock absorber lights up on the dash....

15 hours ago, jonthetourist said:

Mine definitely takes at least 30 secs to raise to Hi. 

how about the sport/normal mode? Also no difference?

6 hours ago, dendonc said:

Where it is not OK for uk authorities is channel tunnel link

Oh, no, I meant other authorities like DVLA. I know the tunnel bans LPG. It's rather obvious to me that if you do the LPG install in the UK it is the installer's job to conform to all domestic LPG standards. But let's say one day you go with your UK car and do the LPG install abroad, be it Poland or Germany, you name it. What is going to happen next? Who is going to assess that the install conforms to norms and regulations of the UK. I can easily imagine a situation that you could be kicked out by MOT people, declined insurance or something worse.

Btw, guys, please go there

and share with me some thoughts, as it seems I didn't get much attention :)

Just one reply? no one else got an experience to share? Even, if you have to say - "yes, mine is the same" I would be grateful and sleeping better :)

On 11/03/2018 at 9:55 AM, jonthetourist said:

Hi Robert. These guys sound good. How is the price, please? Is it worth driving to Poland for?

Hi Jon,

Driving solely for the LPG install - probably not a good deal. Depending on where in the UK you are, you would probably burn £300-400 petrol to drive the LS to Warsaw + the cost of the trip back on LPG say 200-ish. My install costed 5500 PLN including a bigger LPG tank - you do the math, the ex. rate fluctuates.

The cost of instal is not cheap, especially for Polish conditions, but the reasons I did it this way are above (reliability, safety, good components), I could have done it easily for half the price in a shed of an LPG "magician" somewhere much closer than Warsaw, but at a great risk getting serviced by an arrogant idiot.

Now there is the question of legality of the Polish install in the UK. The Warsaw guys gave me a bunch of certificates and homologation documents stating that the install conforms to all the safety standards to use it in Poland, and from what I enquired also ok for Germany and most of the EU countries. However, I cannot tell if this would be ok for the UK authorities, and how to go about legalising this install in the UK. As said, I don't bother, as I bought my LS for export.

I believe you may find a good UK based installer. If you want details of my LPG kit, feel free to ask. I was told in Warsaw that the LPG kit they sold me was the best for the LS430 at the time. They could have easily milked my wallet and installed  something more expensive, but they were honest.

They dynoed and tuned the car as well, which is not what most installers do. I mean fine-tune the LPG install, not a chip-tunning.

On 11/03/2018 at 3:56 PM, dendonc said:

Bear in mind, if you go much before spring, it is mandatory to use winter rated tyres and normal to carry snow chains, snow chains mandatory in France

Something to clarify.

As far as i know the Polish law, as of today, there is still no legislation forcing you to use winter tyres, BUT... as soon as we have the first snow fall I don't know anyone sane who keeps their summer tyres on. Many people don't just sit and wait for the snow but swap early/late November to stay on the safe side and avoid a kilometer long queue to the shops in December. Another story is when you cause or are involved in an accident without proper tyres - simply you are screwed, even if it's not your fault.

Now, I understand Germany has similar rules - you can risk driving on summer tyres, but if you are caught wearing them on snow and/or ice you are screwed - and rightfuly.

See this https://www.wbs-law.de/eng/road-traffic-law-eng/law-winter-tyres-germany-48118/

https://www.german-way.com/travel-and-tourism/driving-in-europe/driving/snow-tires-winter-driving/

This is all about being responsible, and knowing what you are doing and risking.

It is not hard to imagine, and I've been several times in this situation:

Winter, via Germany, amazing 3-4 lane motorway, mountains, a lot of mighty hills, twists, dry conditions, everyone very fast and happy, and of a sudden the weather changes and we drive into a snow blizzard. Visibility very limited, good layer of snow under the wheels, a few huge hills (up and down) in front of me and nearest exit in 30-50km... Had I not got winter tyres then, I wouldn't have made it, also imagine the danger you could be to yourself and others.

I don't know about France, but in Poland and Czech Rep. no mandatory snow chains (only option), Slovakia - mandatory to have snow chains.

On 11/03/2018 at 9:44 AM, DaKa said:

the custom exhaust specialist that I used to fit mine advised me that for them, to make the same twin system, it would have been minimum £300 + vat.

Well, definitely the cost of life in the UK is much higher than in Poland, therefore the price difference IMHO.

8 minutes ago, bobjol said:

BUT !!!!  Both tail pipes do not fit centrally in the arches of the rear bumper..

yes, this is precisely (off centre) how it ended up on mine. It looks a bit worse comparing to the original IMHO, but.... I just wanted to get the car back on the road rather than investing time to do the necessary mods to make it look like the original.

Good luck and enjoy.

4 hours ago, sorcerer said:

I'm not sure about 'legality' but it's certainly not best practice. When we go abroad we have to use adapters because their pump nozzles are different to ours and vice versa. However, adapters are not supposed to be used on a UK-based car filling up at UK pumps.

As far as I've seen stickers on LPG pumps in the UK they say adapters "not recommended", but definitely nothing like "illegal".

I have 3 adapters, including my Polish domestic - btw it is natively Italian stadard. This covers me the whole EU, and who knows maybe Russia or other countries. The mount inside the flap is absolutely siff and sturdy and well secured. Honestly, I have never had a problem or worry with that. Also I remember when I was picking up the car, I have mentioned to the techs that It worries me a little all the weight of the LPG nozzle + the mighty cable, and it might just snap the adapter or the mounting from the socket. I was assured that this is not going to be the case, and if I have a slightest problem they will fix it for free. And they were right, no problems at all, not a slightest movement, or any visible stress on the material.

I have absolutely no worries using it, nothing bends, deforms etc, good access from any angle.

As far as the "legality" of the fuel flap goes - I'm a bit astonished, because it is all legal in Germany, Poland, and other countries I've visited. Anyway I'm not bothered, as I bought the car for exporting it to Poland, I'm no longer working or living permanently in the UK.

15 hours ago, BigBoomer said:

Both exhausts are even flow and she is whisper quiet with a mild roar when you stomp -)

Nice, I had to change both boxes to get there :-), Though keep an eye on them, especially if you notice rusty spots around the centre bottom of the back boxes, that's a sign of excess water accumulation from the exhaust gasses, most likely due to stuck and rusty flaps that sit inside the mufflers.

I would try goodridge https://www.goodridge.co.uk/collections/types?q=car+brake+kit

Some time ago I bought a set for my 2003 Mazda 323f BJ 2.0 sport and they perfectly fit LS430, so if 400 has the same brake lines -> caliper fittings it should work too.